This past month and a half has been C – R – A – Y guys. Jane and Emma are into everything right now. We bought our tree, put it up, and put lights on it, only to have the twins tear down half of the lights and anything else at their level.  Our tree wasn't pretty, but it was ours, and it was in our home.



Time has really gotten away from me.  The girls are keeping me on my toes every day, and they are talking up a STORM.  This week Janey started putting simple sentences together (most of them consist of her pointing out what's Emma's -- "Emma's socks, Emma's seat, Emma's potty"...), and their vocabulary triples daily.   Jane has also started adding an A to any word that ends in an N ("crownA, JaneA").  Not sure where that came from!


It's also pretty cool that they are finally starting to understand context.  They know when to use certain words and phrases, when to nod or shake their heads, and sometimes they say things and I cannot figure out for the LIFE of me how they figured it out.  Other times, they mimic exactly what I taught them ONE TIME, which I can't believe they pick up so fast. Every time I say that someone in the house is sleeping, Jane or Emma (or both simultaneously) puts her pointer finger to her lips and says, "Shhhh..." and looks VERY concerned.

The highlight of them learning to talk so far was when Janey pointed to the bottle of champagne in my shopping cart on NYE and told a random stranger that this was "Mama's sippy".  Yup, Crowning Mama Moment. Luckily the stranger had a sense of humor.

And then there is the potty training.  At our 18 month check up, the doctor informed us that since Jane and Emma can tell us that they have to poop, that they are pooping, and that they have, in fact, pooped, that it's ok to start really trying to potty train.  I didn't get much guidance on it, so I just brought the potties back out to the bathroom and started putting them on them before changing them into nighttime diapers.

The other night, Janey had a successful pee pee on the potty, complete with saying "Bye-bye pee pee!" and waving as we flushed the contents of her Baby Bjorn down the actual toilet.  I then later asked her if she had to go poopies on the potty, to which she responded by running to the bathroom and opening the door.  I got her all undressed (she is, apparently, a NAKED pooper), and she sat there and smiled at me, and then jumped up to look into the bathtub.  In that time, Emma seemed intrigued, so I started to undress her and get her potty-ready.

As I turned to sit Emmy on the potty, I heard a splat on the floor and turned to find Jane pooping on the floor NEXT TO the potty.

I screamed and threw her onto "Emma's seat" and started yelling frantically for Hershey.  He disappeared for 5 minutes (or long enough for me to wipe it all up with toilet paper, flush it, and proceed to start cleaning Jane off) and finally came back with a roll of paper towels and 2 gallon-sized Ziploc bags.  Not quite sure what he was thinking....but thank GOD that my mom bought me a Shark Steam Mop for Christmas this year.  That thing has been a miracle.  Great for removing/sanitizing food-fling stains AND poop.  Awesome.

Aside from all of that excitement, we had a fun November, a busy Thanksgiving, activity-filled December, and 2 blissful and also sickly weeks off from work/daycare for Christmas and New Years.  The girls were spoiled ROTTEN for Christmas (I'm still not sure that Hershey and I bought them enough, but our families def. did!), and we had a quiet NYE at home with our closest friends and their children.  I have to say, it has been an eventful 2 months (you can follow our adventures on Facebook and Instagram), and I am ready for 2015.

Without further delay, here are some of our favorite highlights from the last 2 months:

Well, another month has gone by and I have barely had a chance to BREATHE let alone sit down to write a blog post.  The last month has been a true trial of love and extreme patience.

First of all, the girls have been SICK SICK SICK.  They both had bronchiolitis, which if you remember from January, we are right back to the inhalers like we were with the RSV.  Luckily we have dodged stomach viruses (for now).  However, Emma had an ear infection 2 weeks ago, and now Janey is on the verge of one.  Oy.

We have also been trying to catch up with family and friends, as we have been literally imprisoned in our home for 2 months because of sicknesses.  Hershey was sick, I was sick, and the girls have been Sick.  Whew.  We are ready for a break.

Trying to keep the girls busy and entertained while they are sick is proving to be a challenge.  I mean, how do you explain to a one year old that they are sick and need to stay inside, warm and cozy, so that they don't get worse?  There's just no way.  So we've been using our imaginations...











As you can see by our beautiful sectional sofa behind them, Jane and Emma have started a climbing stint.  A couple of weeks ago, Jane went right over the arm of the sofa onto her head on the hard wood floor.  I think I lost a couple of years off of my life on that day, and now we have to find creative ways to keep them off of the couch.  I am now raising puppies. Hmpf.  

And just to prove that I am raising puppies, Daddy decided to keep the girls occupied one day while I was making lunch to keep them out of the oven, off of the couch, and out from under my feet.  The results were frightening...












As you can see, it all went downhill very quickly.

Last weekend, we got to see Hershey's sister and brother-in-law (the girls' godparents).  It was a much-needed visit with them, since we haven't seen them since the summer and we missed them so-so-much.  The girls have been getting quicker to warm up to people who they haven't seen in a while, so they had a great time playing with all of Hershey and Heather's old toys with their aunt and uncle and Grandma and "Papa".  Adorable.









Today and tomorrow, we have a much-needed break -- HOORAY FOR TEACHERS' CONVENTION!  Although, I don't know how much of a break it is for Hershey and I.  Hershey is sick (again), and the girls are in rare form.  This morning, we got up at 6:30, and I made them a BIG breakfast, which they proceeded to throw all over the dining room softball style.  They then fought and pushed and shoved each other for about half an hour, at which point I brought them upstairs and let them tear the bathroom apart so that I could shower.  Story hour came next, and when we got home, they fought and stood on chairs until I served them lunch, at their big girl table...